AUBURN, CA (MPG) - Additional wildfire resiliency is on the horizon for Foresthill and the Foresthill Divide, with the Placer County Board of Supervisors approving an agreement to accept Congressionally directed federal funding for the area today.

Placer was awarded $1.5 million in federal funds to accelerate the implementation of the Baker Ranch/Shirttail Canyon Wildfire Defense Planning and Analysis Project.

The project will assess wildfire risk across 50,000 acres of non-federal forest and wildland-urban interface lands in the Foresthill Divide area, help develop a comprehensive treatment plan for forest resilience and complete environmental reviews for one or more individual projects to expedite implementation.

The project’s goals are to reduce forest density, remove excess flammable materials, improve overall forest health and mitigate tree diseases caused by invasive insects.

"The Foresthill Divide region is undeniably vulnerable to wildfires, with six of the county’s 31 priority focus areas for wildfire resilience located there," said Placer County Regional Forest Health Coordinator Kerri Timmer. "This important funding will help local communities protect lives, property, critical infrastructure and our natural treasures from the impacts of severe wildfire."

The funding enables continued collaboration with key partners, including the U.S. Forest Service, tribal governments, CAL FIRE, the Placer Resource Conservation District, local Fire Safe Councils, and others. This collaborative approach will ensure that projects on private and non-federal lands are effectively addressed and in alignment with similar work occurring on adjacent federal landscapes.

"By working together with our partners, we can implement a comprehensive, landscape-scale strategy for forest management in the Foresthill Divide," said Timmer. "This federal award builds upon the momentum generated by the recent $293,469 grant awarded by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy for the Foresthill Divide Community Protection Project."

The initiative is expected to take about 18-24 months to implement.

For more information about the Placer County Regional Forest Health Division and its initiatives, please visit https://www.placer.ca.gov/9582/Regional-Forest-Health.